Rancho Cucamonga man's 116-mile walk around Salton Sea begins

Randy Brown of Rancho Cucamonga begins his 116-mile walk around the Salton Sea near Mecca on Tuesday.

(Credit: Jennifer Cappuccio Maher — staff photographer)

Randy Brown tapped the floor in front of the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club Community Center just after dawn on Tuesday.

So began a journey he has dubbed the Salton Sea Walk, a 116-mile, six-day trek around the entire shoreline of the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, with a goal of shining light on the plight of the dying body of water.

For the past 14 months, Brown has been extensively training for his walk and along the way has become a local celebrity, said filmmaker Blake Alexander.

Leleand Phillips of Menifee got up at 3 a.m. to support Brown.

A photographer, Phillips said he learned about Brown’s mission while watching a video on YouTube several months ago. Since then, he’s been following his journey on Facebook. Tuesday marked the first time he met Brown.

“I think it’s great that he’s bringing attention to the Salton Sea and trying to save it,” he said.

The jitters didn’t hit Brown until he started taping up his feet this morning. Brown, who will average 20 miles a day, said he has to tape his feet every morning to prevent blisters.

“Just excitement,” he recounted. “It’s soaking in.”

For the past 14 months, Brown has been extensively training for his walk and along the way has become a local celebrity, said filmmaker Blake Alexander who will be documenting the journey. Alexander has trained with Brown most of the last year and recalls recently when they were at a restaurant in Brawley.

“The waiter says, ‘Oh Randy, the Salton Sea guy,” Alexander said.

On Monday night, a man pulled up to their campground just to greet Brown and offer support.

Alexander and his documentary crew will follow him through the walk, which is expected to end on Sunday afternoon. The crew will film him as they walk, by boat, and on Tuesday even used a drone to capture the start.

About a dozen residents, friends and family came out to support Brown as he began his trek.

Leland Phillips of Menifee got up at 3 a.m. and drove 95 miles to support Brown.

A photographer, Phillips said he learned about Brown’s mission while watching a video on YouTube several months ago. Since then, he’s been following his journey on Facebook. Tuesday marked the first time he met Brown.

“I wanted to come out here and start the walk with him,” said Phillips, who joined Brown for the first few minutes of the walk. “You can ask 10 people about the Salton sea and they don’t know where it is in our backyard. I think it’s great that he’s bringing attention to the Salton Sea and trying to save it.”

Celia Garcia lives across street from the community center and in the same apartment complex Brown has been using as his basecamp for the past month and a half.

Garcia said she first learned about Brown through friends and other groups that work with the saving the sea.

“It think it is fabulous, the more attention that’s brought to the fact the sea needs to be saved is best,” she said. “No one has ever really taken this approach before. It really is bringing awareness.”

As a resident, Garcia said, this reminds her and her neighbors about the beauty of the lake.

“It brings about this nostalgic feel of what it was and potentially what it can be again,” she said. “People get caught up in the politics of saving the sea and we don’t really get to focus on the fact that it’s this living thing in front of us – I think that’s what Randy does.”

On his journey, Brown will likely have to contend with triple-digit heat, perhaps thunderstorms, the latter of which he didn’t necessarily anticipate in his months of training.

But four hours into his expedition, the threat of rain remained just that. The gray skies actually provided Brown with more favorable weather conditions.

“We’re ahead of schedule,” Brown said from Corvina Beach. “The weather is cooperative so far, no rain as I’d been fearing. Nice and cool. Today should be a nice comfortable day.”

Brown said Monday he remained focused on the effort to bring attention to the plight of the Salton Sea, which is at risk of drying up as the toll of falling water levels and reduced agricultural water runoff that has traditionally fed the lake intensifies.

Brown intends to hold several live broadcasts throughout the journey, depending on reception or if “I’m bored.”

Brown has also posted on his Facebook page times and locations the public and come out to support him during his walk.

John Sears, his father-in-law who serving the operations manager for the trek Sears said the last two days were hard for Brown, adding he hardly slept Sunday night just from excitement.

“Randy’s done so much work and he’s really got it down to a science. I’ve got my schedule, down to the minute,” he said, referring to the detailed account for the journey. “It is very well thought out.”